Examples of how Gujarat is ignoring Supreme Court
GAIL offers some detailed examples to back its case.
On 25th December last year, the Gujarat government took the innocuous step of granting RoU permission to Gujarat Petronet to transmit natural gas from Kalol to Mehsana. Three days later on 28th December it issued a gazette notification to formalise the decision.
According to GAIL, the gazette notification was tantamount to gross non-compliance of the Supreme Court ruling that clearly states the Gujarat government does not have the legislative competence in matters related to natural gas, including regulation of transmission, supply and distribution. The RoUs granted to Gujarat Petronet by a gazette notification to lay a pipeline from Kalol to Mehsana will be deemed invalid for the reason that the issue of RoUs is construed as the sole prerogative of the Union, writes GAIL.
According to GAIL, the award of RoU permission falls under (Delhis) Petroleum Mineral Pipeline (Acquisition of Right of User) Act, 1962 and not (Gujarats) Water and Gas Pipelines Act, 2000. GAIL repeats state authorities do not have the legislative competence to issue a RoU and argues that two separate bodies (one under Delhi and one under Gandhinagar) cannot have simultaneous authority to issue RoUs within Gujarat.
GAIL further accuses Gujarat Petronet of continuing to lay gas transmission pipelines in defiance of the Supreme Court. For instance, GAIL reveals that Gujarat Petronet continues to issue tenders and award pipeline contracts for its gas grid.
Examples: Baroda to Kalol, Mora to Talasari and Ahmedabad to Rajkot, where it has already procured material to complete sections of the pipeline in north and south Gujarat. Gujarat Petronet does not have the legal mandate to continue with such activities, writes GAIL, Nor is GSPL the competent authority to develop the proposed 2,200-km gas grid in Gujarat.